Over-the-top wireless relay solutions based on the SEAMLESS protocol have received recognition both in science and among practitioners

At the IEEE International Symposium on Safety, Security, and Rescue Robotics (SSRR), held in October 2025 in Galway, Ireland, Tim Gebauer from the Communication Networks Institute (CNI), TU Dortmund University, presented the paper “LANTERN: Enabling Seamless Relay-Based Network Expansion in Search and Rescue Environments Using an Open Multi-Radio Relay.” The work is co-authored by Steffen Fricke, Manuel Patchou, Stefan Böcker, and Christian Wietfeld.

The IEEE SSRR is one of the leading conferences in the field of rescue robotics, bringing together researchers and first responders to discuss advances in safety, security, and robotic technologies for disaster scenarios. For CNI, this venue provides an important opportunity to exchange insights directly with experts from both academia and operational emergency services, ensuring that research outcomes align with real-world requirements.

The presented work introduces LANTERN, an open multi-radio relay system that ensures reliable and low-latency connectivity for teleoperated robotic missions in challenging environments such as tunnels, industrial sites, and urban canyons. Unlike vendor-dependent cellular relay solutions such as 5G Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB), LANTERN enables interoperability across heterogeneous technologies, including 5G and mesh networks, through an over-the-top architecture built on the SEAMLESS Multi-Link protocol.

Experimental evaluations in both homogeneous 5G and heterogeneous 5G-to-mesh scenarios demonstrated seamless link transitions and uninterrupted teleoperation, even under non-line-of-sight conditions. The approach contributes to CNI’s broader research on resilient, secure, and adaptive 6G communication systems for connected robotics and disaster response.

In November,  ComNets was invited to present a dedicated relay solution for 5G ad-hoc networks devoloped in the project AMPLIFY on the booth of the BDBOS on the PMRExpo on Cologne.  Here numerous practitioners from rescue organizations and industry informed themselves about the solution presented by ComNets Dortmund together with the Firebrigade Dortmund and the German Rescue Robotics Centre.  PMRExpo is the Leading European Trade Fair for Secure Communication for networking and solutions revolving around secure mission- and business-critical mobile communication for authorities and organisations with civil security tasks (BOS), critical infrastructures (KRITIS) and all economic sectors.  The fair was the ideal opportunity to discuss and foster the transfer of ComNets's research results in applicable, real-life solutions.

Further info:

• T. Gebauer, S. Fricke, M. Patchou, S. Böcker, C. Wietfeld, "LANTERN: Enabling Seamless Relay-Based Network Expansion in Search and Rescue Environments using an Open Multi-Radio Relay", in IEEE International Symposium on Safety, Security, and Rescue Robotics (SSRR), Galway, Ireland, October 2025. (Forthcoming.) [pdf] [Details] 
• T. Gebauer, M. Patchou, C. Wietfeld, "SEAMLESS: Radio Metric Aware Multi-Link Transmission for Resilient Rescue Robotics", In 2023 IEEE International Conference on Safety, Security, and Rescue Robotics (SSRR), Fukushima, Japan, November 2023. (Best Paper Award.) [IEEE Xplore] [pdf] [Code] [Details]